


Story of the Woman in Red

by teal_bandit



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Sibling Love, Storytelling, sibling interactions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-25 00:04:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17110661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teal_bandit/pseuds/teal_bandit
Summary: During a thunderstorm, a young Pietro Maximoff soothes his sister by telling her a little story. A story rooted in future truths.





	Story of the Woman in Red

“Pietro,” trembled a voice from the other side of the room, “brother, are you awake?”

 

The white-haired boy turned as a flash of lightning illuminated his sister’s frightened face. “Yes, Wanda,” he yawned, “I’m awake. What’s wrong?”

 

“I’m scared, Pietro; the lightning is so close and the thunder’s so loud…” She paused, thinking “could you tell me a story? The way papa does?”

 

Pietro opened one eye to look at his twin. Their father had taken up a side job repairing furniture in a village south of the mountain and wouldn’t be home for another couple of days. In his absence, Pietro had taken over the role of man of the house, despite being only seven.

 

“Seven years old and still afraid of storms, sister” he questioned. He had never minded storms– he quite enjoyed them, really; they were calming to him.

 

“I’m not afraid of the storms” Wanda protested, “I’m just… Afraid of what might happen if they get too bad. Please, brother, come tell me a story. You’re really good at it; almost as good as Papa. Just til I fall back asleep… Pleeeeease?”

 

Pietro sighed as he lifted himself off his bed. “Alright,” he mock-chided, “but only one.” He seated himself beside Wanda on her bed and began.

 

“Once upon a time, there was a pure and kind-hearted priestess who spoke to the gods on behalf of the humans. The priestess was well-known and loved throughout the land. However, the humans didn’t know how to talk to the gods themselves and didn’t know that the gods had created the sacred elements of the earth, air, and seas. Many had burned the earth and poisoned the air and seas, and made the gods very angry. They decided that the humans did not deserve to live in their creations and decided to kill them all.

 

The priestess, being kind and understanding, tried talking with the gods so that they would spare the humans, for she knew that they meant no harm and that they didn’t know any better. She pleaded with the gods for many days and many nights to spare the humans. ‘Please,’ she begged, ’ I promise you the humans are worthy of living within the sacred elements! You must give them the chance to prove it!’

 

But the gods wouldn’t listen. They believed that, if they had been worthy, they would have taken better care of the sacred elements to begin with. In their rage, they killed the priestess. The people of the land, who loved the priestess dearly, gathered around her body and began to weep. They shed so many tears, they caused a flood. Their wailing was so great that it became a gust of wind that blew back the flood. Their trembling became so powerful that it caused a great crack to form, burying their beloved priestess.

 

The gods were moved; they saw, in the humans they had been ready to kill, the powers of their own sacred elements. They decided, then, that the priestess had been right. They apologized to the humans and made for themselves three champions– one of earth, one of sky, and one of sea– to speak to the humans on their behalf. They also came together to create a beautiful garden on the spot where the priestess was buried.

 

Legend says that the gods’ champions still walk the Earth to this day, although they often wear disguises. And, some say that on early mornings, when the land is still wet with dew and the breeze is moving the leaves, you can sometimes see the smiling face of the priestess in the trees, though no one can recognize her anymore.”

 

Pietro looked over at his sister, who slept peacefully beside him. He wondered idly when she had fallen back asleep. Looking out their bedroom window, he noticed that the worst of the storm had passed, with just the small sounds of pattering against the roof of their home indicating that there had ever been a storm to begin with.

 

He yawned as he looked across the room to where his bed was. The walk over seemed so far and Wanda’s bed was warm and just as comfortable. He decided against crossing the room again, settling above the covers next to his sister. A slight smile crossed his face as he listened to the sounds of rain hitting tin; he distantly felt a pair of arms wrapping around his shoulders as he drifted off to sleep.

 

That night, he dreamt of a priestess with long, curling hair being eclipsed by a terrible beast of deep red and black. But the priestess in his dream did not perish at the hands of the beast; instead, she became the champion and vanquished it, saving the lives of all the people in the land. As his dream ended, he caught a glimpse of the heroic priestess as she walked over the body of the slain beast, red cape fluttering behind her. She turned around, but, before he could see her face, he woke up to the sound of their mother calling them out for breakfast.

 

As he rustled his sister awake, he wondered why he felt like he had seen that woman before.

**Author's Note:**

> This work has been edited from its original form on Tumblr (mostly typos). Any comments are greatly appreciated, and I will try to get more works up as soon as I can.


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